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Collections Online Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Wood Blocks

Artwork Tombstone
ArtistOsamu James Nakagawa (Japanese-American, b. 1962)
TitleWood Blocks
Plate NumberNo. 3b
SeriesKai: Following the Cycle of Life
DateWinter 1999
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 13 7/8 × 13 15/16 in. (35.2 × 35.4 cm)
Sheet: 17 × 15 15/16 in. (43.2 × 40.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Artist and Tomoko Nakagawa, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number2018.27
This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request.
A black-and-white image centering on a printed-out photograph of a man standing in a suit. The photograph rests on a carpet floor with wood blocks on and around it. Light from the windows shines on parts of the photograph and floor.

A black-and-white image centering on a printed-out photograph of a man standing in a suit. The photograph rests on a carpet floor with wood blocks on and around it. Light from the windows shines on parts of the photograph and floor.

Created by IU photography professor Osamu James Nakagawa, these works highlight themes central to his Kai: Following the Cycle of Life series: family, culture, and the passage of time. In Morning Light, his baby daughter, Hikari, sits in the center of the frame holding a camera above her head as if taking a selfie. The shadows on either side represent her parents, whose ghost-like appearances also suggest the spirits of their ancestors. In Wood Blocks, her toy blocks surround and mark the heart of a portrait of Nakagawa’s father—who stands before an abandoned American drive-in screen. The woodblocks suggest Japan’s long printmaking tradition as well as Nakagawa’s own cross-cultural upbringing.

Additional Titles
Plate NumberNo. 3b
Series TitleKai: Following the Cycle of Life

Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Wood Blocks | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2018.27